Means for making paper



April 11, 1933- L; c. PERKINS MEANS FOR MAKING PAPER Filed Feb. 26, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gvwcm bo Les fer C. Perk if? s Ap 1933- c. PERKINS MEANS FOR MAKING PAPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1952 Leak? C. Pe rk'z'zzs Patented Apr. 11, 1933 warren STATES PATENT OFFICE LESTER C. PERKINS, OF I-IOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T PARSONS PAPER COMPANY, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS MEANS FOR. MAKING PAPER Application filed February 26, 1932. Serial No. 595,351.

The invention forming the subject matter of this application relates to an improved method of and apparatus for decreasing the thickness of a web of paper during its manufacture from the pulp, and while the web is in movement in order to produce in such web one or more similar channeled portions which are thinner than the adjacent portions thereof. r r I The invention is particularly designed as an improvement in the method and apparatus disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,147,331, July 20, 1915, and has for its object the production of the paper described in said patent by an improved method of manufacture to eliminate certain disabilities inherent in the patented apparatus.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the detailed description thereof proceeds.

Inthe drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan'view of a part of the paper making apparatus to which this invention is applied;

Figure 2 is a vertical section to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of a tracker forming part of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4- l of Figure 1; j

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of Figure 4:;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a spout forming part of the present invention; and

Figure 8 is a perspective of another spoutforming part of the said invention.

As shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, a tubular rod 1 is adj ustably mounted on hearing standards 2 and 3 supported for perpendicular adjustment on the runners 4: and 5, r respectively, of a Fourdrinier frame within which is movably mounted the usual Fourdrinier wire 6, the directions of movement are indicated by the arrows in Figure 1. The tubular rod 1 is provided with slots 7 adapted to receive Water discharged through the screwthreaded shank 8 of a funnel Qtapped into a sleeve 10 surrounding and slidably mounted upon the tube 1. The sleeve 10 is provided with a shoulder 11 formed at the junction of a reduced extension. 12 of the sleeve 10.

The pressure drum 13 has one side 14 formed as a disk having a hub 15 rotatably mounted on the sleeve 10 and provided with a central annular recess 16 adapted to receive the shoulder 11 of the sleeve 10. A collar 17 is suitably fixed to the sleeve 10 by means of a wing set screw 18 tapped into said sleeve 10 and extending through an aperture 19 suitably formed in said collar to Contact with the side of rod 1. It is evident from the drawings that the sleeve 10 may be adjusted lengthwise of the tubular rod 1 to any de sired position thereon ;and when so adjusted may be held in adjusted position by the clamping action of set screw 18 against the side of tube 1.

The drum 13 has its periphery provided with a plurality of apertures 20, and has formed in the disk portion 14 thereof adjacent said periphery a plurality of apertures 21. The drum 13 also has an annular flange 22 extending toward its center and on the side opposite to the disk portion 14. This flange 22 is provided with apertures 23 (see Figure 6) similar to the apertures 21 and serving the same purpose, as will be hereinafter described.

The flange 22 co-operates with the disk part 14 of the drum to position and secure aseries of buckets 24 in suitable position to scoop up excess water lying in a channel formed by a tracker in advance of the drum 13. 7

As will be apparent from Figure 1 of the drawings, any desired number of these pressure drums may be slidably mounted on the tube 1. Each of these drums is located in the rear of a tracker 25 mounted to slide axially on a rod 26 arranged with its axis parallel to the axis of the tubular member 1 andon standards 27 and 28 extending upwardly from the runners 4 and 5 of the F ourdrinier frame. The trackers 25 are preferably formed of light, flexible flat material adapted to form a shallow flattrack in the stock travelling toward the rotary drums. In the present case, however, the trackers are supported slidably on a rod 26, having no connection with the drums 13, along which the trackers may be independently adjusted.

In order to determine the depth to which the trackers will form the grooves 28 in the travelling web 29, these trackers 25 are each provided with adjustable counterbalances extending on opposite sides of the rod 26. The operative part of the trackers 25 is in the form of a flat flexible blade which terminates in a sleeve or hub fitting slidably in the rod 26. The sleeve 30 has a screwthreaded extension 31 connected thereto and provided with an adjustable weight 32, shown in the drawings in the form of a nut movable on the extension 31.

The standards 27 and 28 have a second rod 33 secured thereto parallel with the rod 26. The rod 33 is spaced above and rearwardly of the rod 26 to form a stop or support against which the long arms of trackers 25 may be seated when it is desired to support them suitably out of contact with the web 29 or with the Fourdrinier wire 6. It will be apparent that by suitably adjusting the counterbalance. 32 on the extension 31, the weight of the curved tracker arm 25, insofar as it bears on the web 29, may be accurately adjusted in order to vary the lateral displacement of the web materialin the moving web 29 and thereby form the grooves 28. The drum 13 is provided with wire screening similar to that used on the outside surface of dandy rolls and is of such a weave or texture that the particles of pulpy matter do not stick to the wire face as it is rotated in contact with the material of the pulpy web.

In prior devices of this character, it has been found that a considerable amount of water collected on the outside of the sleeve 10 1 and hub 15. caused by excess water dripping from the edges of the buckets on the inside of the drum and running down on the solid or'outside faces of the drum from upper points not in contact with the stock. This water clings to the under surface of the sleeve or hub until sufficient collects to form drops which travel along the hub or sleeve in the direction of the axis of the drum and finally drop on the pulpy web 29 at points outside of the groove 28. The paper at this stage of manufacture being only partly closed is marked by these drops in a manner similar to that of a dandy roll mark which, of course, is objectionable.

In order to overcome this defect in prior machines, the present invention is provided with a trough-like spout 34 having arcuate flanges 35 and 36 formed at the upper end thereof, and adapted to be suitably secured to the cylindrical sides-of the sleeve 10. The

neoaoss spout is provided with a back 36' to stop the axial travel of the drops along the sleeve. The water dropping from the buckets 24 onto the sleeve 10, is directed through spout 34 back to the lower buckets on the inside of the drum as it continues its rotation. The water dropping from the hub 15 and collar 17 is received in the trough of a spout 37 having flanges 38 and 39 extending upwardly around the cylindrical surfaces of the collar 17 and suitably secured against the cylindrical surface of the collar so that its downwardly inclined end will direct the collected moisture or water in a stream against the apertures 21 formed in the flat face of the disk 1a adjacent the periphery of the drum 13. The spout 37 is also provided with a back 39 for the same purpose as spout 36. In this manner the spout 37 discharges the water in a stream, which would otherwise injure the web 29, into the edge of the groove 28 where any marking would not be particularly noticed. The lower end of the spout 37 is directed as close to the web 29 as practicable to decrease the height of drop of the water so as not to mark the web 29 very readil The apertured periphery of the drum 13, the apertured portion of the disk 14 and the annular flange 22 are covered by a Wire covering lV which, as previously stated, may he of a nature similar to the covering or outer surface of a dandy roll. The apertured flange 22 and the apertures 21 in the disk 14 form a means for collecting and conveying to the inside of the drum, and the buckets thereof, such surplus water as is not taken care of by the collecting face of the drum 13.

The trackers 25 are supported separately, and necessarily at distances of more than 12 from the rotary drum. These trackers may have their weight, as applied to the stock 29, adjusted independently of the drums 13 which may also be independently adjusted of the aforesaid trackers by raising and lowering the tubular rod 1 in its standards as disclosed in the aforesaid Patent No. 1,1%7,331.

It is evident from the disclosure that these trackers may be independently adjusted while the machine is in operation and without removing the tracker from the stock or pulpy material, in order to regulate the depth of the channels formed in the aforesaid stock. It is further evident that the pressure of the trackers can depend upon the force of gravity to insure contact with the pulpy material passing beneath them, and that these elements, being complete in themselves, are not dependent upon the action of any other force other than gravity to perform their channelling functions. It is contemplated that this adjustment may be effected by means of screw and spring mechanism wherever the framework of the mafibers.

chine might interfere with the gravity adjustment.

The apertured annular flange 22 not only forms an additional support for the collecting buckets 24, but also constitutes an additional collecting surface for taking up surplus water squeezed out on the side of the wheel and required to be extracted from the ridge of the pulpy matter at the side of the track and from that portion of the pulpy matter which is displaced laterally. In addition to this function, the flange 4 forms with the periphery of the drum and disk part 14 a container for the discharge of the collecting spout 34. As previously stated, the spout 34 collects surplus material, mostly water, which is not taken care of by discharge through the collecting funnel 9 and the tubular rod 1.

The stop rod 33 is provided primarily for the purpose of supporting the trackers 25 in such position as to avoid metal to metal contact between the Fourdrinier wire and the trackers. The counterbalancing nut 32 is less than the weight of the long arm of the tracker 25. It is to be noted that the length of the rotated extension 31 is less than the distance of the supporting rod 26 from the stock 29 so that there can be no possibility of the end of such extension 31 contacting with the stock when the trackers are swung to the dotted line position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

The standards 27 and 28 may be mounted on the runners 4 and 5 for adjustment toward and from the bearings 2 and 3 of the tubular rod 1 so that the trackers may be positioned in any desired location behind the drums 13. Due to the ready means for adjustment of the trackers 25 into the stock 29, the adjusted positions of the standards 27 and 28 need not be changed to meet widely varying conditions under which the machine may be operated. The drums and trackers are positioned behind the first suction boxes for reasons well known in this art.

The pivot axis 26 of the tracker blades should be placed as close as possible to the travelling web in order to permit the greater part of each blade to lie flat on the web so as to separate the interlaced fibers and to free the water from the web immediately under the blade. This free water is then removed by rotating drum 13 as the web passes thereunder. It must be understood that a smooth surfaced drum could be substituted for the tracker blade, but the latter form is preferred because it is more readily adjusted.

The flexible tracker blades should be located in advance of the collecting drums in such position that the stock has not dried sufficiently to prevent ready separation of its In this apparatus, too, the drums are preferably located between the first and second suction boxes, in order to set permanently the impressions made by said drums.

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in a' specific manner in accordance with'the provisions of the patent statutes, it should be understood that Ido not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications thereof will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

hat I claim is:

1. In paper making apparatus, the combination with a supporting frame, of a member movable therethrough to carry a web of pulp, standards adjustable on said frame, a rod supported by said standards and extending transversely of the direction of movement of said member, of a tracker pivoted on said rod and adjustable lengthwise thereof, said tracker being normally held by gravity in contact with the moving web to form a track therein, means for varying part of the force of gravity operating on that part of said tracker member in contact with said web, a second support on said frame parallel to the first named support, and means adjustable on said second support in advance of the tracker and rotatable by contact with said web to convert the track to a flat bottomed channel, said standards being adjustable toward and from the last named means to vary the distance of the tracker therefrom.

2. In paper making apparatus, the combination of a fixed slotted tube, a sleeve adjustably mounted on said tube, a funnel carried by said sleeve and opening through the opening of said tube into the passageway therein, and a hollow perforated wire covered wheel mountedon said sleeve and provided with buckets which empty into said funnel as the wheel revolves, and means for conducting excess material from said sleeve and wheel to the periphery of the wheel at a point adjacent its contact with the web of pulp.

3. In paper making apparatus, a frame having a member movable thereon to carry a web of pulpy material, a combined squeeze and conveyor wheel rotatable on said frame in juxtaposition to said member, said Wheel having a foraminous periphery, and foraminous flanges extending inwardly from said periphery.

4. In paper making apparatus, a frame having a web carrying member movable thereon, a slotted tubular support carried by said frame transversely of said member, a sleeve adj ustably mounted on said support, a funnel supported by said sleeve and opening through the slot in said support into the passage therein, a combined squeeze and consleeve and having buckets mounted on the inner periphery thereof to discharge into said funnel as the wheel revolves, and a ans veyor wheel rotatably mounted on said I spout depending from said sleeve within said wheel to return the drippings from said sleeve to the buckets at the lower part of said Wheel.

5. In paper making apparatus, a frame having a web carrying member movable thereon, a slotted tubular support carried by said frame transversely of said member, a sleeve adj ustably mounted on said support, a funnel supported by said sleeve and opening through the slot in said support into the passage therein, a combined squeeze and conveyor wheel rotatably mounted on said sleeve and having buckets mounted on the inner periphery thereof to discharge into said funnel as the Wheel revolves, a spout depending from said sleeve within said wheel to return the drippings from said sleeve to the buckets at the lower part of said Wheel and a second spout depending from said sleeve outside said wheel, to direct drippings from said sleeve to a point adjacent the lower edge of said Wheel.

6. In a paper making apparatus, the combination with a frame having a supporting tube thereon, a sleeve adjustable lengthwise on said tube, a combined squeeze and conveyor wheel rotatable on said sleeve, and spouts depending below said sleeve to direct drippings therefrom toward the periphery of said wheel below said sleeve.

7 In a paper making apparatus, a frame, a squeeze and conveyor wheel, means for rotatably mounting said wheel on said frame, and spouts supported by said means for directing drippings from said means toward the periphery of said Wheel.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

' LESTER C. PERKINS. 

